Kiplagat Edwin Kwambai aka Fifty Cows Staff Profile
…ently pursuing an MBA in Strategic Management at the same Institution. In 2005, Fifty Cows joined Kass Fm, a local vernacular radio station as a Studio Technician and Radio Producer. An advent fan of traditional music, he quickly established his own music show that focused mainly on traditional music and oldies from Marakwet, Pokot, Sabaot, Tugen, Keiyo, Nandi and Kipssigis communities. It was during this period, presenting the show dubbed, “Tos T…
Day Three: 9 March 2022 (Kisumu) Story
…n: Dunga Hill Camp – Kisumu. Field Notes: We left Khayega for Kisumu at 10:00am and made a quick stop at Kiboswa ‘city’ on our way to the Lakeside city. This historic center, inhabited by the Luo, Luhya and the Kalenjin tribes of Kenya, is home to Paul Kelemba (or Maddo, as the cartoonist is popularly known). After taking a few photos to prove to the award-winning cartoonist that we actually visited his ancestral home, we continued with our journe…
Conclusion: Challenges and Recomendations Story
…nal instruments in comparison to the central one. Finally, yet perhaps mostly importantly, I believe the Masters series should put more focus on nurturing traditional instrument playing skills. Aside from showing the differences in how the elders play as opposed to the younger generation, we should encourage closer collaborations and the creation of a network that could surpass the SW project itself. In order to do this, we should extend the maste…
Global Influences Project: Artist Submissions Page
…making them a perfect fit. My initial intention was for the song to be solely an instrumental, but it felt a bit empty, so I decided to add my vocals to it. It turned out great!!” If you want to hear more of Ashisho’s music, you can follow his facebook page here:www.facebook.com/ashisho254 Or follow him on Instagram & Twitter: @Ashishomusic SOFIA GRANT X WATMON CULTURAL GROUP Our first submission for the #GlobalInfluencesProject comes from the bri…
Day Three: Bungoma Town to Kakamega Story
…told us the history of the band. The band, Bungoma Roots Band, started in 2005 when all the members were young men at the Kumugui Secondary School, in the Michimeru Village. Wilbert and his school friends formed a band and competed with other school bands. They were quite good and had all their school fees paid for. During breaks from playing at the school they took up ‘Marketing’ and showed up at any events that were being held. After graduation,…
Day Two: 8 March 2022 (Ilesi) Story
…g session was finally figured out the actual recording started at about 17:00 hours. The three sisters and their two brothers have pleasantly matured musically and it was really encouraging to see them helping to keep their father’s legacy alive. All was done a few minutes to 8:00pm. After the routine photo shoot the Obasie Palnyang brothers and sisters were off to their serene village in Kodedema, close to the Kenya-Uganda border. After the long…
Day Zero: February 15, 2020 – Assemble in Zanzibar Story
…in Arabic as ‘having joy with music.’ Taarab’s origins are in the late 1800s. Mohamed Ibrahim, studied music in Egypt, where he learned to play the Qanun and returned to Zanzibar to form the Zanzibar Taarab orchestra. Of course, there are a variety of musical styles in Zanzibar, including (every use of quotes in this post are direct quotes from the DCMA): Ngoma: “Ngoma literally translated means drum and is a term to encompass all local tra…
We assemble in Kisumu Story
…by ethnomusicologist, Kahithe, and we welcome her to the Singing Wells family. A bit of background: Kahithe is a Ethnomusicologist and dance researcher but is also a dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. She is a skilled researcher with extensive experience in ethnographic research and fieldwork management. She has 8 years of experience in ethnomusicological research in East Africa, with a special focus on dance traditions of Kenya. She possess…
The Singing Wells podcast #5 Podcast
…Edition 5 of the Singing Wells podcast is here – with a bit of a catch up on the latest news from the past 12 months of the Singing Wells project. Click here to download Podcast 5…
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…no better than the other Batwa so I thank you for choosing me. I am happy 1000 times over. My message represents the rest of the Batwa people. I listened to the recording of my song – it was so nice, so sweet.’ The day ended with her joyfully dancing to her own record, with her newborn baby in her arms. It was a moment that made so much of the work put in by the entire team completely worth it. And it has inspired us to continue searching for more…
Andy Patterson Staff Profile
…e University of Surrey as part of their Tonmeister course, graduating in 2005. He has since worked in the music industry in a variety of roles, performing both engineering and technical duties for a wide range of clients, from the world of pop music through to film composers. He has worked with Abubilla Music for around 5 years and has co-engineered and produced all of the releases to date. His past clients have included the late Gerry Rafferty, Q…
Nyatiti Instrument
…ells project a short time before his death. Japanese artist Anyango became the first woman to play the Nyatiti – as traditionally it is only played by men….
Day 3: Monday, 2017 February 20th Story
…the Dar es Salaam Development Corporation. They had multiple hits in the 80’s and 90’s including: Mpenzi Edita (name of a lady who portrays the lead singer) and MV Mapenzi (essentially the ‘love boat’). The latter is an East Africa classic that most people know. Throughout this trip, we will spent a lot of time with Henry, starting with this first night of live recording at the Bagamoyo Country Club. Leo: Leo is Henry’s son and has been our Influ…
Day 1: Saturday, 2017 February 18th Story
…t normal. He plays his drums like a guitar. You have to listen very carefully to realize not only is he keeping the beat, but he’s also carrying a melody. And he uses 10-12 drums, sometimes more. This is not normal. Every drum was a note for him. He picked the skins for the drums and made them himself, finding in each the perfect tone. I have studied his music over years and I still can’t believe what he could do.” In Dar es Salaam we talked to Da…
Our journey to the Royal Drums: in the words of James Isabirye Story
…are? This matter has concerned a circle of my friends deeply since around 2003 and we’ve all tried to deal with it. I have a circle I talk to all the time about this, including Julius Kyakuwa, Centurio Balikoowa, Haruna Walusimbi, Sarah Mukyala and Cornelius Mwima. We all understand that without intervention, somehow, all this music – all this culture will die. But we also know that the issue will always be resources: how do we bring new resources…
Singing Wells Youtube Channel hits 2.5Million views News
…of the highlights from our channel. First place on the view count – at 272,000 views, goes to our awesome session with Otieno Aloka in his Luo village. Performing with a traditional band, this video of the famous singer of ‘Kanungo Eteko’ is a great example of the Singing Wells project in action; a modern artist connecting to his musical heritage as he plays the traditional orutu, whilst also inflecting it with his own contemporary style. https://…